Curiosity revealing or animating a shaped cavity

ABSTRACT

The present invention comprises two or more rotatable three-dimensional bodies and a linkage between the bodies. By means of the linkage, the rotation of a first body causes a second body to rotate. In at least one of the rotational positions of the two or more bodies, the shapes of the bodies are designed to create a shaped cavity between a first body and a second body. The shaped cavity may be a tunnel, or the shaped cavity may be a recess or niche. As the at least two bodies are rotated, the shaped cavity may appear or disappear or may change shape, position, or orientation as the bodies are rotated.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

This invention relates to a manipulable souvenir, novelty, or artwork which reveals or animates a shaped cavity.

Prior art that may be related to this invention is the recently popular fidget spinner, exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 5,591,062.

The first object of this invention is to amuse the user by revealing a symbol or message or by animating a shape. The second object of the invention is to provide a tactile means to potentially relieve nervous energy, anxiety, or psychological stress—much as the current popular fidget spinners claim.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention comprises at least two rotatable, three-dimensional bodies, each having a rotational axis, and a linkage between the bodies. Further, by means of the linkage, the rotation of a first body through a first angle around the axis of the first body causes a second body to rotate through a corresponding second angle around the axis of the second body. The rotation of the first body may cause the corresponding rotation of the second body, because the two bodies comprise intermeshing cogs as do gears. The rotation of the first body may cause the rotation of the second body, because the two bodies are like rollers in frictional contact with each other, so that the rotation of the first body causes the second body to rotate. The rotation of the first body may cause the rotation of the second body, because the two bodies are mechanically linked with a belt or a flexible shaft.

There is a framework which confines the axis or each body and so holds the axes in fixed relationship to each other. The framework may include bearings or spindles as the means of confining the axes.

Further, in at least one of the rotational positions of the two or more bodies, the shapes of the bodies are designed to create a shaped cavity between a first body and a second body of the at least two bodies, wherein the cavity arises from the union of voids in the first body and voids in the second body. The shaped cavity may be a tunnel or “through-hole” which extends all the way past the first body and the second body of the at least two bodies, where the first body and second body are adjacent to each other. Alternatively, the shaped cavity may be a recess or niche, which does not extend past the bodies but ends at a rear surface, which is formed as a merger of a first surface of the first body and a second surface of the second body.

The shaped cavity may appear or disappear as the at least two bodies are rotated to different rotational positions; or the shaped cavity may change shape, position, or orientation as the at least two bodies are rotated to different rotational positions. In some embodiments, a sound source may be actuated or a light may be actuated at a predetermined rotational position of a first body of the two or more bodies. The light may further comprise a light-emitting diode, a battery, and a switch. The sound source may comprise a bell or a battery-powered buzzer, for example. Alternatively, the sound source or light source may be actuated simply when the bodies rotate. Further, the light may be on constantly, such as providing the invention as a night light, or the sound may be a music box which also rotates the bodies.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form a part of the specification, illustrate several embodiments of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principle of the invention.

FIG. 1A is an oblique view of an embodiment of the invention which uses a plurality of intermeshing gear cogs so that a rotation of the first body causes the second body to rotate.

FIG. 1B is a frontal (or elevation) view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1A. In FIG. 1B the bodies have been rotated to a rotational position which reveals a shaped body in the shape of the letter ‘I’.

FIG. 1C is a frontal view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1A. In FIG. 1C the bodies have been rotated to a rotational position which reveals a shaped body in the shape of a heart.

FIG. 1D is a frontal view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1A. In FIG. 1D the bodies have been rotated to a rotational position which reveals a shaped body in the shape of the letter ‘U’.

FIG. 1E is a frontal view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1A. In FIG. 1E the bodies have been rotated to one of several rotational positions which reveal no shaped cavity.

FIG. 2A is a frontal view of an embodiment of the invention which also uses a plurality intermeshing gear cogs. The two bodies are rotated to a position to reveal the shape of a star formed by a cavity, which is a recess. It also includes a dotted line to indicate where a planar cross-section is to be made as shown in FIG. 2B.

FIG. 2B is an oblique view of the embodiment of FIG. 2A, except that the top halves of the two bodies are shown removed. FIG. 2B therefore show only the bottom half of the star cavity.

FIG. 3 is an oblique view of the embodiment of FIG. 1A but includes a motor, which directly causes the rotation of the first body and therefore indirectly causes the rotation of the second body.

FIG. 4A is an oblique view of two bodies, which are linked by a flexible shaft, such that when the first body is rotated, the second body also rotates.

FIG. 4B is a frontal view of the embodiment of FIG. 4A, where the bodies have been rotated to a rotational position which reveals a shaped cavity in the shape of the letter ‘I’.

FIG. 4C and FIG. 4D are frontal views of the embodiment of FIG. 4A, where the bodies have been rotated to rotational positions that respectively reveal shaped cavities in the shapes of a heart and the letter ‘U’.

FIG. 5A is an oblique view of an embodiment of the invention which uses two rollers with sufficient frictional contact so that a rotation of the first body causes the second body to rotate.

FIG. 5B is a frontal view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5A. In FIG. 5B the bodies have been rotated to a rotational position which reveals a shaped body in the shape of the letter ‘I’.

FIG. 5C is a frontal view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5A. In FIG. 5C the bodies have been rotated to a rotational position which reveals a shaped body in the shape of a heart.

FIG. 5D is a frontal view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5A. In FIG. 5D the bodies have been rotated to a rotational position which reveals a shaped body in the shape of the letter ‘U’.

FIG. 6A is an oblique view of another embodiment, in which the shaped cavity is a recess with the shape of a face profile.

FIG. 6B is a frontal view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6A more clearly showing the recess with the shape of the profile of the face.

FIG. 7A through 7C are a frontal views of an embodiment which show several snapshots of an animated sequence of changes in the orientation of the shaped void.

The parts shown in the various figures are numbered throughout as follows:

-   -   1 a a first body     -   1 b a second body     -   2 a shaped cavity (tunnel or recess)     -   3 a framework     -   6 a linkage (gear-like cogs, a flexible shaft, or a frictional         contact)     -   7 a motor     -   9 a section plane

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL EMBODIMENTS

The invention will be described below with reference to the figures and the numbered individual elements therein. In the description below, the specific construction, the count, and the arrangement of the components is intended for clarity of illustration and explanation. Other—perhaps better—arrangements of the components constitute alternative embodiments of the same method and apparatus.

The invention according to a preferred embodiment is shown in FIG. 1A. In this embodiment only two bodies 1 a and 1 b are shown. Other embodiments may have more bodies. The two bodies 1 a and 1 b in FIG. 1A have a plurality of intermeshing cogs as a means of linkage 6 so arranged that rotating a first body 1 a around its axis will cause the other body 1 b to also rotate about its axis. Each body 1 a or 1 b essentially is a cylindrical gear with at least one void cut out of the gear. In other embodiments, the bodies 1 a and 1 b could instead be hypoid gears, bevel gears, worm gears, irregular gears, or organic gears each with specific voids cut out of their basic shape to produce a shaped cavity in a certain rotational position. FIG. 1A also incorporates a framework 3 for confining the axes of the bodies 1 a and 1 b with respect to each other. The preferred embodiment would include a framework 3 in some form to ensure that the axes of bodies 1 a and 1 b are held in constant relationship to each other. The framework may provide spindles or bearings for the bodies. However, an alternative embodiment might use magnetic attraction to hold the bodies 1 a and 1 b in contact with each other, where the framework would be construed to be the magnetic field. The framework 3 may further include a means, such as a ratchet, which permits the bodies 1 a and 1 b to rotate in only one direction around their respective axes.

FIG. 1B shows a frontal elevation view of the embodiment of FIG. 1A, but for simplicity the framework is not shown. In FIG. 1B the bodies 1 a and 1 b have been rotated about their respective axes to a particular rotational position, where voids of the two bodies 1 a and 1 b meet to form a shaped cavity 2 in the shape of the alphabetic letter ‘I’. In other embodiments, the shape of the shaped cavity 2 may be any other alphabetic letter, may be a numeral, or may be a glyph or symbol or any recognizable shape. In the embodiment of FIG. 1B the shaped cavity 2 is a tunnel which passes all the way past both bodies 1.

FIG. 1B through FIG. 1E show a progression of rotational positions of the bodies 1 a and 1 b of the embodiment of FIG. 1A. As the gear-like bodies 1 a and 1 b rotate, a shaped cavity 2 with the shape of the alphabetic letter ‘I’ appears. As the bodies 1 a and 1 b are rotated further, it disappears. As the bodies 1 a and 1 b are rotated further a different shaped cavity 2 in the shape of a heart appears, as shown in FIG. 1C. As the bodies 1 a and 1 b are rotated even further, the cavity shaped like a heart disappears. As the bodies 1 a and 1 b are rotated even further, the bodies form a cavity 2 shaped like the alphabetic letter ‘U’ appears, as shown in FIG. 1D. Upon further rotation of the bodies 1 a and 1 b, no shaped cavity appears, as shown in FIG. 1E. FIG. 1E shows one of many rotational positions of the bodies 1 a and 1 b at which no shaped cavity is to be seen. The shaped cavities 2 of FIG. 1B through FIG. 1D are formed when a first void area in a first body 1 a combines with a second void in a second body 1 b to form the shaped cavity 2.

FIG. 1B through FIG. 1D illustrate a particular sequence of three cavities 2, which convey the message “I love you”. There are an unlimited number of other shapes which could be used instead of these particular shapes of the preferred embodiment of FIG. 1A. The invention does not require that there be three differently shaped cavities 1; there could be more or could be fewer. The invention does not require that the shapes convey a message. For example, alternative shapes of the bodies 1 a and 1 b, could sequentially display and then hide one or more shaped cavities of interest to a child—such as a truck, a dinosaur, or a rocket ship.

FIG. 2A shows a frontal view, where the bodies 1 a and 1 b again essentially are two gears. For clarity, a framework is not shown. FIG. 2 shows a shaped cavity 2, which does not extend past the bodies 1 a and 1 b. Rather, the shaped cavity 2 is a recess that extends only part-way through the bodies 1 a and 1 b. The shaped cavity 2 in this case is the shape of a star, but an alternate embodiment might reveal a recess of some other shape, such as the outline of an alphabetic letter, a numeral, or a glyph. The rear surface of the shaped cavity may be a color contrasting with the color of the rest of the bodies 1 a and 1 b. The color is simply shown as black in FIG. 2A, but the color can be any visible color. Further, the cavity 2, which in FIG. 2A is a recess, also contains a graphic image at the rear of the depression. Other images, glyphs, text, or a combination thereof could instead be imprinted on the rear surface of the shaped cavity 2. Further, the rear surface may include a mirror.

FIG. 2A also shows a section line 9 indicating the edge view of a cutting plane. FIG. 2B shows an oblique view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2A but with the top halves of the gear-like bodes 1 a and 1 b removed from above the cutting plane. FIG. 2B illustrates that the cavity 2 extends only halfway through the bodies 1 a and 1 b in the rotational position that produces the star-shaped shaped cavity 2. In variations of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, the cavity may extend deeper or extend less deep.

FIG. 3 is an oblique drawing of the embodiment of FIG. 1A but with the addition of an electric motor 7 to rotate a one body 1 b. The other body 1 a will therefore also turn, because of the linkage between the bodies 1 a and 1 b, which as in the case of FIG. 1A are the plurality of intermeshing cogs 6 of the bodies 1 a and 1 b. FIG. 3 illustrates only one means for rotating the bodies 1 a and 1 b about their axes without a user having to manually rotate them. Other means for automating the rotation of the bodies 1 a and 1 b could be a turbine powered by running water, a turbine powered by wind, a wind-up spring motor, squirrel cage, or any other such power source of mechanical torsion. A more basic embodiment of the current invention could use a means such as a crank, a wheel, or a knob to manually rotate a body 1 a or 1 b. Even more basic would be for the user to simply rotate a body 1 a and 1 b directly by manually rotating one of the bodies 1 a or 1 b with fingers.

FIG. 4A is an oblique drawing of an alternative embodiment of the invention. FIG. 4A shows two bodies 1 a and 1 b, which are not gears or gear-like. Each body 1 a and 1 b has specific voids cut out of an original cylindrical body. Alternatively, the bodies 1 a and 1 b could be multiple-sided prisms with voids, for example, or other three-dimensional shapes. In the embodiment of FIG. 4A the linkage 6 between the two bodies 1 is a flexible shaft, which causes one body 1 a to rotate if the other body 1 b is rotated. Yet other potential means of linkage among the bodies are the use of magnets or synchronous motors, for example.

FIG. 4B is a frontal elevation view drawing of the embodiment of FIG. 4A. The bodies 1 a and 1 b are shown rotated to a specific rotational position which causes the voids of both bodies 1 a and 1 b to form a cavity 2 in the shape of the letter ‘I’. FIG. 4C and FIG. 4D are also frontal elevation view drawings of the embodiment of FIG. 4A, except that the bodies 1 a and 1 b are rotated to two specific rotational positions, which respectively reveal a heart-shaped cavity 2 and a letter U-shaped cavity 2. The cavities 2 shown in FIG. 4A through FIG. 4D may be through-hole (tunnel) cavities as in FIG. 1A through FIG. 1E. Alternatively, the cavities 2 of the embodiment of FIG. 4A need not extend all the way past the bodies 1 a and 1 b, as was shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B.

FIG. 5A is an oblique view drawing of two bodies 1 a and 1 b in another embodiment of the invention, where at least a portion of one body 1 a is in frictional contact 6 with a portion of the other body 1 b, at each rotational position of the bodies 1 a and 1 b. The mechanical linkage 6 between the bodies 1 a and 1 b is simply the frictional contact between them. Therefore, as one of the bodies 1 a is rotated, the other body 1 b is rotated, or as body 1 b is rotated body 1 a is rotated. The simplest form of this embodiment would use the same constant distance (radius) to the frictional contact point 6 from the axis of each body 1 a or 1 b. That is, each body 1 a or 1 b essentially is a circular cylinder but with a void cut out of it. An embodiment need not use the same radius for each cylindrical body 1 a or 1 b. For example, the radius of body 1 b might be twice the radius of body 1 a. Further, the frictional contact point 6 need not be a constant radius as the bodies 1 a and 1 b rotate. For example, the bodies 1 a and 1 b could be elliptical cylinders (each with voids cut out of them) so arranged that both bodies 1 a and 1 b always are in frictional contact.

FIG. 5B through FIG. 5D are frontal elevation views of the embodiment of FIG. 5A and show a series of positions at which the bodies 1 a and 1 b form shaped cavities. As with FIG. 1A through FIG. 1D, the shape of the cavities may be any arbitrary shape, but normally would be recognizable shapes such as numerals, alphabetic letters, or glyphs. The number of shaped cavities formed upon rotation to specific rotation angles could be just one or could be two or more.

FIG. 6A is an oblique view drawing of a variation of the preferred embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1A, which used gear-like cogs as the linkage 6 between the bodies 1 a and 1 b. FIG. 6B is frontal (elevation) view corresponding to the oblique view of FIG. 6A and more clearly shows that the cavity 2 is a recess in the shape of a profile of a person's face. The person's profile could be that of a famous person or a custom profile of a spouse of the user, for example. The rear surface of the recess may even be a photographic profile image of the person. The recessed cavity 2 may alternatively be a profile of an animal or a flower, for example. In the embodiment of FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B, the cavity 2 is the only shaped cavity which the embodiment reveals. Note that in this case part of the face projects outward from body 1 b, so the recessed face is a combination of a void in body 1 b and a projecting part of body 1 b.

FIG. 7A through FIG. 7C are three elevation views of two bodies 1 a and 1 b, which are all frontal views of the same embodiment and which here are depicted as intermeshing gears with voids cut out. FIG. 7A through FIG. 7C simply show the bodies 1 a and 1 b rotated to three rotational positions, which form an animated square cavity 2 that rotates in orientation as the bodies 1 are rotated. Instead of a square cavity 2, as used as an example in FIG. 7A through FIG. 7C, some other shape could be used in an embodiment of this invention. Further, instead of, or in addition to, changing orientation, the cavity 2 could change position or shape.

While this invention is described above with reference to several embodiments, anyone skilled in the art can readily visualize further, alternative embodiments of this invention. Therefore, the scope and content of this invention are not limited by the foregoing description. Rather, the scope and content are to be defined by the following claims. 

I claim:
 1. An apparatus for revealing or animating a shaped cavity comprising: two or more bodies, each of which are three-dimensional and rotatable, wherein each body has a rotation axis and each of the bodies can be rotated to a multiplicity of rotational positions; a linkage between the bodies, wherein a rotation of one body causes a rotation of another body; a framework for confining the rotation axes of the two or more bodies in fixed relationship to each other wherein at least a first body and a second body are adjacent, the first body and second body are shaped to produce the shaped cavity in at least one rotational position of the first body and second body, and the shaped cavity is produced as a union of a first void of the first body and a second void of the second body.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the rotation axes of the bodies are parallel.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the rotation axes of the bodies are not all parallel.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the linkage is a flexible shaft connecting two bodies.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the linkage is a belt which snugly wraps around at least two of the bodies.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the linkage is a continuous friction contact between a first body and a second body of the two or more bodies.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the linkage is provided by a magnet fixedly part of at least two of the bodies.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a body further comprises a plurality of cogs, such that the cogs of one body intermesh with a plurality of cogs of another body.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein a part of each of the bodies comprises a gear.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein each gear is a gear in the set comprising a cylindrical gear, a bevel gear, a worm gear, a hypoid gear, and an irregular gear.
 11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the framework provides a spindle around which at least one of the two or more bodies rotates.
 12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the framework provides a bearing on which at least one of the two or more bodies rotates.
 13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the shape of the shaped cavity is a shape in the set comprising an alphabetic letter, a numeral, and a glyph.
 14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the shaped cavity is a tunnel passing past and between two bodies that are adjacent.
 15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the shaped cavity is a recess produced as the merger of voids and surfaces of two bodies that are adjacent and wherein the recess has a rear end which is a part of the surface of at least one of the two bodies.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein a rear end of the recess displays a graphical image.
 17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein a rear end of the recess is colored differently from the rest of two bodies forming the shaped cavity.
 18. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the shaped cavity alternatively appears and disappears as the bodies rotate.
 19. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the size of the shaped cavity changes as the bodies rotate.
 20. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the shaped cavity changes shape as the bodies rotate.
 21. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the shaped cavity changes position as the bodies rotate.
 22. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a means for manually rotating at least one of the bodies.
 23. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the bodies are rotated by a power source.
 24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the power source is an electric motor.
 25. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the power source is a wind-up, spring driven motor.
 26. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the power source is a wind turbine.
 27. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the power source is a water turbine.
 28. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a light that is actuated when the bodies rotate to a predefined position.
 29. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a light that is actuated when the bodies rotate.
 30. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a sound source that is actuated when the bodies rotate to a predefined position.
 31. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a sound source that is actuated when the bodies rotate. 